Should I give a recorded statement for my auto accident?

Following a car accident, you may be wondering what you should and should not say to those around you. While speaking with the police, the other driver and, in some cases, eyewitnesses following an accident is often unavoidable, you should be careful to only provide factual information and to minimize the information that you share. If an insurance adjuster requests that you provide a recorded statement, you should exercise your legal right to refuse this request. Here’s why:

It may impact your claim—even if the other driver is still at fault. In Texas, you may only recover losses for a car accident if you’re found to be 50 percent at fault or less. This means that if you are on the edge of qualifying for compensation, one incriminating statement may place some, or all, of the liability in your court.

An insurance adjuster’s job is to save insurance companies money. Insurance adjusters interact with people with similar claims for a living. To them, the results of your settlement come down to business—and anything you say to them may be held against you in court.

You may not have all of the facts regarding the case. Immediately after a car accident, and in the days and weeks to come, you may recall details from your accident that you hadn’t remembered before. You may also be exposed to new information from the police report and from eye witnesses. At the time that you are asked to provide a statement, you may not yet have access to all of the facts and may unknowingly convey ill-informed judgments or information.

You may convey conflicting information. Providing a recorded statement could harm your credibility as a witness. For example, stating that the car was on your right in your initial statement and remembering that the vehicle was actually on your left later may be perceived as conflicting information and may harm the integrity of your statement.

While providing a recorded statement serves no benefit to you, anything you say may be held against you in court. An experienced attorney can handle the insurance companies for you, leaving you with the freedom to recover and move on. For more information, contact our law firm today.